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Manchester United have been told by a former rival that it 'wouldn't be a PR disaster' if Marcus Rashford shines on loan at Barcelona.

Rashford spending season at BarcelonaLeft Man Utd on initial loanRed Devils forced out 'bomb squad'Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Rashford first expressed a desire to leave Manchester United last December, which resulted in him being frozen out of Ruben Amorim's squad. He joined Aston Villa on loan for the second half of the 2024-25 season before returning to Old Trafford, and managed to seal a switch to Barcelona on loan with an option to buy this summer. Given Barca's financial struggles, it's uncertain that they will even trigger the €35m purchase clause in the deal.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

However, Rashford's future remained unresolved by the time he returned for pre-season at the start of July, and he joined Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia in a 'bomb squad' that was forced to train away from the rest of Amorim's first team. With the likes of Scott McTominay thriving away from United, there are question marks over whether the players forced out are the real problem, with the club's culture now being questioned.

WHAT MCMANAMAN SAID

Steve McManaman, who played for United's rivals in Liverpool and Manchester City, as well as Barca's in Real Madrid, has exclusively told GOAL that the Red Devils need Rashford to succeed and they shouldn't think of the situation as a 'PR disaster' if he indeed thrives abroad.

Asked if it would be seen as a problem if he did well or if United would be cheering him on, McManaman replied: "I think the latter. People will turn it into a PR disaster, of course they will, but I think the change needed to happen. You look now, if Jadon Sancho went somewhere to win the Champions League, that wouldn't be a PR disaster. It just wasn't working out at Manchester United with the manager. They needed a change. If [Rashford] has a great season with Barcelona and he's successful, maybe it will add value to him. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a PR disaster, I think change needs to happen with the manager if you're not particularly happy. But if he does well and adds value to his price tag, that's all well and good."

McManaman did also want to reaffirm where his allegiances lie, however. "But with all due respect, I don't want Barcelona to win the Champions League! We'll leave it at that!" he laughed. "I saw [Rashford] at the Mallorca game, he's going to have a lot of opportunities this year. Barcelona are a little bit light up top, Robert Lewandowski has only just come back, so they're going to have to utilise him a lot this year. It's a wonderful opportunity at a wonderful club in a wonderful city."

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR RASHFORD?

After scoring in England's 5-0 thrashing of Serbia on Tuesday, Rashford will now rejoin his Barcelona team-mates ahead of Saturday's La Liga encounter with Valencia, which will be played at the 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium as the newly renovated Camp Nou remains under construction. Next Thursday, Barca face Newcastle away from home in their first Champions League game of the campaign.

With both teams in with a good shot of making the WTC final, there will be plenty at stake in Durban

Andrew Fidel Fernando26-Nov-2024Big picture: Two teams on an upward trajectorySri Lanka’s men are third on the World Test Championship table, with a win percentage of 55.56, and South Africa are right on their heels, on 54.17. Both are in striking distance of a top-two finish, for which presently, there are five serious contenders – India, Australia, and New Zealand being the other three.Ordinarily, this is enough to make this a tilt worth watching (there are distractions such as some Border-Gavaskar Trophy, plus a New Zealand vs England series elsewhere, apparently), but there are further layers of dramatic potential here. Sri Lanka, if you remember, are the only Asian team to ever have beaten South Africa at home in a series, back in 2019. Seven players from this current Sri Lanka squad had played roles in that 2-0 sweep.And in Durban, Sri Lanka have never once lost a Test, having played three there. In fact, they have won their two most recent games at Kingsmead, Rangana Herath’s wizardry having delivered their first triumph on South African soil back in 2011, before the Kusal Perera special sent them screaming to one of the most miraculous wins in Test history in 2019.Related

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South Africa not pushing for green tops for massive home season

But while the Sri Lanka team of that 2019 tour were held together by hope and kinesiology tape, this one seems to be building to something? (We ask tentatively, as this is a strange assertion to make for Sri Lanka teams over the last decade.) So far this year, they have won six Tests, the most impressive of which was their victory at The Oval. And they have what is increasingly beginning to seem like a seam-bowling outfit. Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, and Lahiru Kumara are the likely starters. But they have others like Kasun Rajitha and Milan Rathnayake who have had good showings in overseas conditions too.South Africa, meanwhile, are on an upward trajectory of their own. They’d sent what amounted to about an E-team to New Zealand for a pasting in February, but since then, their big dogs back in the XI, have won away series in West Indies and Bangladesh. They’re at the start of their home summer now, so presumably they are overflowing with confidence. The one wrinkle in all of this is that they haven’t especially loved playing at Kingsmead over the past 15 years. Since the start of 2010, they have lost five matches to the two they have won at this venue. While South Africa quicks revel in the extra bounce their home surfaces usually deliver, the coastal venues, and this one in particular, tends to play slower and lower in comparison.On top of which, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has said that they will not be requesting made-to-order green tops on this tour, which will please Sri Lanka’s batters especially. That doesn’t mean there will be no bounce or movement. Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s head coach, said he expected “some good pace” at Kingsmead. But expect the surface to take turn on the later days, especially. South Africa have some skillful seamers, but their spin attack will be tested here too.Form guideSouth Africa WWWDL
Sri Lanka WWWLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)Keshav Maharaj could end up playing a big role for South Africa in the home summer•AFP/Getty ImagesIn the spotlight: Keshav Maharaj and Kamindu MendisNo bowler in this match knows the Kingsmead surface better than Keshav Maharaj. He was born in Durban, has played all his first-class cricket for the KwaZulu Natal Dolphins, and averages 21.52 in Tests at the venue. Though he has 54 Tests on his resume now, he’s only played three in his hometown, though. Partly, this is down to Covid. But one of those matches was against Sri Lanka, on that 2019 tour, and he took three wickets for 87 runs in that match. This sounds like it wasn’t especially impressive, but when one of the greatest innings of all time is being played by the opposition, it’s not terrible. He is also five years down the road in his development now, and at 34, should be in his spin-bowling prime. How Maharaj fares against Sri Lanka’s batters will go a long way to determining this series, you suspect.When will the Kamindu Mendis fever dream end? Eight Tests in, he has five hundreds – in three different countries – and in September became the fastest player to 1000 Test runs in 74 years. That average of 91.27 has to come down at some point, surely? But then people said that about him when he was in England, in August. His average was only in the 80s then. Though he is an all-format player for Sri Lanka now, Kamindu’s prowess has been limited to Tests for now – he is only a decent white-ball player, though his being able to bowl with either arm is likely more useful in those formats. Can he take this rocket-fueled start to a Test career to a whole new continent? In any case, there has never been a Sri Lanka batter who has been this hot out of the gate.Team news: Sri Lanka ponder attack*South Africa named their XI on the eve of the Test and picked Gerald Coetzee over the left-arm spin of Senuran Muthusamy, to join the pace attack of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder, with Keshav Maharaj the lone spinner.South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Tony de Zorzi, 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Temba Bavuma (capt.), 5 David Bedingham, 6 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Wiaan Mulder, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Kagiso RabadaSeven Sri Lanka players have been in Durban for at least two weeks, and they should have a full complement of cricketers to choose from. They have decisions to make on the bowling front. They will likely go with Milan Rathnayake, for the batting value he adds. But do they pick Vishwa Fernando or Lahiru Kumara? Vishwa brings in the left-arm angle and has had success in Durban. But Kumara has the pace to trouble batters.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Dimuth Karuanaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Kamindu Mendis, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kusal Mendis (wk), 8 Milan Rathnayake, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Lahiru Kumara/Vishwa FernandoPitch and conditions: A wet start to the Test?Some pace and bounce is likely early on, but if the sun falls on this Kingsmead pitch, expect it to become a little lower, and slower. Sun, though, might be in short supply early on in this match, with showers forecast for Wednesday, and overcast conditions predicted for Thursday.Stats and trivia Maharaj’s best-ever figures have come against Sri Lanka – his 9 for 129 in the first innings at the SSC, in Colombo, in 2018. Kamindu Mendis’ away average so far, from nine innings, is 79.25. Five of those knocks came in England, where he averages 53.40, his lowest in any country. In the nine Tests these teams have played since the start of 2015, South Africa have won five and Sri Lanka four. All but two of these Tests were in South Africa. If Prabath Jayasuriya gets three wickets in Durban – his 17th Test – he will become the joint second-fastest bowler to 100 Test wickets, behind George Lohmann, who made his debut in the 19th century. Among players active since 1950, only Yasir Shah has done it in 17 Tests.Lahiru Kumara is also closing in on 100 dismissals. He’d be the fifth Sri Lanka fast bowler to the milestone, behind Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, and Suranga Lakmal.Quotes”Neil [McKenzie]) was good. He was with us for a week. It was a good week, and we got some points from him. We went to a lot of batting sessions with him. He’s a very good cricketer and a very open person, so we took a lot of his information. How do we adapt to this bounce? How do we adapt to these conditions? How do we adapt to this seam? How do we adapt to this ground condition? We took a lot of things.”
*1100 hours: The story was updated after South Africa named their XI

While it might be something of a cliché, this season does feel like it’s going to be Nottingham Forest’s most important in a very long time.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s side will need to prove that their form in the Premier League last year was no fluke, and on top of that, they’ll want to go as far as they possibly can in the Europa League.

Fortunately, there’s no reason to suspect that the Tricky Trees won’t be as good as they were last season, especially since the talismanic Morgan Gibbs-White is set to remain at the City Ground for the foreseeable future.

Moreover, while losing Anthony Elanga isn’t ideal, the club now look set to land someone who could be the perfect replacement.

Forest target perfect Elanga replacement

While the Gibbs-White saga has understandably dominated the headlines when it comes to Forest this summer, the club have made several smart additions to Nuno’s team so far.

Transfer Focus

Jair Cunha, for example, looks like he could develop into a useful defender for the side, while Dan Ndoye and Igor Jesus produced a combined tally of 25 goal involvements last season, which could make all the difference this year.

However, there are still just over two weeks until the window slams shut, and the Tricky Trees seem intent on making the most of that time, reportedly set to welcome Ipswich Town’s Omari Hutchinson to the club, alongside Arnaud Kalimuendo.

Yet, according to a recent report from mainland Europe, Forest are also closing in on signing Dilane Bakwa.

The Belgian journalist has revealed that, while the club have seen their €26m + €5m (£22m + £4m) rejected by Strasbourg, the two clubs are now much “closer to an agreement” than before, and the transfer is now “almost there.”

While Tavolieri does not mention what the final fee for the French winger is likely to be, a story from L’Équipe from earlier this month claimed that the French side value him at up to €35m, which is about £35m, and while that is a lot of money, Bakwa would be worth it.

Why Bakwa would be a perfect Elanga replacement

So, while there is no debating that Elanga was brilliant for Forest last season and one of their most important attackers, it certainly appears that not only would Bakwa be a great replacement, but potentially even an upgrade.

For example, when it comes to their pure output last season, which is fundamentally what matters most for any attacker, it’s the Frenchman who comes out on top.

In his 31 appearances for Strasbourg, the dangerous “diamond,” as dubbed by journalist Zach Lowy, scored six goals and provided nine assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.06 games.

In contrast, the Swedish international scored six goals and provided 12 assists, but did so in 43 appearances, which comes out to a far less impressive average of a goal involvement every 2.38 games.

However, it’s not just their output that paints the 22-year-old in a better light, as he comes out comfortably on top when we take a look under the hood at their underlying numbers.

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.41

0.36

Progressive Passes

4.66

2.27

Progressive Passes Received

8.99

8.24

Progressive Carries

3.86

3.67

Shots

1.87

1.58

Shots on Target

0.79

0.86

Passing Accuracy

72.9%

65.3%

Key Passes

1.70

1.80

Passes into the Final Third

2.42

1.15

Passes into the Penalty Area

1.44

0.94

Crosses into the Penalty Area

0.36

0.29

Live Passes

34.7

25.1

Shot-Creating Actions

3.97

3.67

Goal-Creating Actions

0.58

0.65

Tackles

0.94

0.68

Blocks

0.76

0.40

Interceptions

0.54

0.22

Clearances

0.97

0.90

Successful Take-Ons

1.81

0.90

In fact, it’s not even close, as the Créteil-born gem comes out ahead in almost every single relevant metric, including but not limited to non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive passes and carries, shot-creating actions, tackles, interceptions and more, all per 90.

In other words, the Ligue 1 ace looks to already be a relatively complete winger, who is as capable of creating chances as he is scoring them, and has no problem tracking back to do his defensive work either.

Ultimately, while he might cost them a little more than they were planning, Forest should be doing all they can to sign Bakwa as soon as possible, as not only does he look like the perfect replacement for Elanga, but he is also a potential upgrade.

Their new Gibbs-White: Nottingham Forest in race to land £30m star on loan

The hugely exciting gem could be a game-changer for Forest this season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Aug 14, 2025

Denver Summit FC have reached 15,000 season ticket deposits ahead of their inaugural season, the club announced. One of two new NWSL clubs for 2026, the team has already become the quickest expansion franchise to reach 10,000 season ticket pricing, and plan to play their first two seasons at a temporary location.

Club smash season ticket mark

The Summit reached 15,000 season ticket deposits less than a year before they are scheduled to start NWSL play. The expansion franchise initially broke the record of 10,000 just two months after revealing the franchise in full in January 2025. Angel City previously held the record.

Advertisement'Testament to passion'

“Reaching 15,000 deposits is a testament to the passion for women’s soccer across the Front Range. We are excited to keep momentum going while continuing to engage the Denver community ahead of our inaugural season,” club president Jen Millet said.

Busy in acquisition market

Although they won't kick a ball in proper NWSL play for six months, the team have already been busy fleshing out the on-field personnel. They announced former NYCFC and Manchester City Women coach Nick Cushing to lead the side, and have made three signings, including Spain international Nahikari Garcia. 

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ImagnWill start in temporary stadium

The Summit will play two seasons at a temporary 12,000 seat stadium, before moving to a full-time home at Santa Fe Yards in 2028. Season ticket deposits can still be made. 

Otago fast bowler has played ten ODIs, and was impressive during the recent home series against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2025Fast bowler Jacob Duffy has been added to New Zealand’s squad for the ODI tri-series against Pakistan and South Africa beginning in Lahore on February 8. His inclusion is primarily as cover for Lockie Ferguson, who is currently playing in the ILT20 in the UAE.Duffy, 30, has played ten ODIs, and taken 18 wickets at an average of 25.94 and economy of 6.25. He recently took four wickets in two ODIs, and eight in three T20Is against Sri Lanka in a home series that ended earlier in January.The New Zealand squad departs for Pakistan on February 3 to play the tri-series followed by the Champions Trophy. Their two round-robin fixtures in the tri-series are in Lahore, against Pakistan on February 8 and South Africa on February 10. The final is in Karachi on February 14.New Zealand then play a Champions Trophy warm-up game against Afghanistan on February 16, followed by the tournament opener against Pakistan on February 19, with both those fixtures also being in Karachi.They then travel to Rawalpindi to play their second Group A fixture against Bangladesh on February 24, followed by a trip to Dubai for the game on March 2 against India, who are not playing any of their Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan because they did not get government clearance to travel.New Zealand squad for tri-series and Champions TrophyMitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Jacob Duffy (tri-series only)

Crystal Palace have now made an approach to sign an “incredible” defender, who is being targeted as a replacement for Marc Guehi.

Palace working on replacement for Eze and Guehi

It has been a difficult summer for Palace on the transfer front, with talisman Eberechi Eze leaving to join Arsenal, but it appears as though they have already secured a replacement, with Fabrizio Romano dropping some exciting news on Tuesday evening.

That said, Palace may still have some work to do before the deadline, given that Marc Guehi’s future remains up in the air, with the captain still expected to join Liverpool, although Manchester City were also recently named as potential suitors.

There has been talk about Man City’s Manuel Akanji heading to Selhurst Park, but the Eagles have also now made an approach for more of a left-field target.

That is according to a report from Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), which states Crystal Palace have made an approach to sign Juventus defender Lloyd Kelly, who is being targeted as a replacement for Guehi.

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Oliver Glasner’s side have lodged an enquiry over Kelly, alongside Premier League rivals Sunderland, and there is a feeling that a deal could be possible, with the Italian club currently working on a deal to sign Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas Beraldo as a replacement.

Having failed to adapt to life in Italy since making a £20m move from Newcastle United, the 26-year-old could well be on the move this summer, considering Beraldo joining Juventus is deemed ‘very possible’.

"Incredible" Kelly needs to leave Juventus this summer

It would be fair to say the Bristol-born defender failed to adapt to life in Italy last season, making just 12 Serie A appearances throughout the campaign, but he has proven himself in the Premier League in the past.

Indeed, the former AFC Bournemouth man was particularly impressive during his time with the Cherries, with ex-Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil once praising him for a solid display in a 1-0 win against Liverpool.

O’Neil said: “I thought Lloyd was incredible. I think he had a 12-week ankle injury followed by a six-week calf injury. Didn’t have much time in between, and then came back today having not trained much, to play left back against one of the best wingers in the world.

“I thought he showed everything, the potential he has to be a top defender.”

If Kelly is to fulfill that potential, however, he needs to receive consistent game time, so a move to Palace could suit all parties, although the Juventus defender clearly isn’t currently on Guehi’s level, given that he is yet to be capped by England.

Fair to say, the start of this season has not gone to plan for Rangers.

The Light Blues were actually impressive during the early rounds of Champions League qualifying, knocking out both Panathinaikos and then Viktoria Plzeň, winning the first leg at home both times.

However, their Champions League dreams quickly went up in flames on Tuesday night, 3-0 down after less than 20 minutes at home to Club Brugge, ultimately defeated 3-1, but still needing a miracle in Belgium next Wednesday, or once again the Europa League beckons.

Meantime, the start of the Scottish Premiership campaign has been catastrophic, held to a 1-1 draw by both Motherwell at Fir Park and then Dundee at Ibrox, thereby failing to win either of their opening two league matches for the first time since 1989 under Graeme Souness.

Thus, the pressure is really on as the Gers travel to St Mirren on Sunday, with the first Old Firm of the season to come a week later.

Defeat in both of these fixtures would be unthinkable, but could have drastic consequences for the new man at the helm.

Russell Martin is under pressure already

When he was appointed during the summer, Russell Martin became only the 20th permanent manager since Rangers’ first in 1899.

However, the way things are going, he could become the shortest-serving, not including caretakers, as the table below documents.

William Wilton

1899-20

718

Bill Struth

20-54

1,390

Scot Symon

54-67

681

David White

67-69

113

William Waddell

69-72

130

Jock Wallace

72-78

306

John Greig

78-83

289

Jock Wallace

83-86

124

Graeme Souness

86-91

257

Walter Smith

91-98

377

Dick Advocaat

98-01

195

Alex McLeish

01-06

235

Paul Le Guen

06-07

31

Walter Smith

07-11

245

Ally McCoist

11-14

167

Mark Warburton

15-17

82

Pedro Caixinha

2017

26

Steven Gerrard

18-21

193

Giovanni van Bronckhorst

21-22

69

Michael Beale

22-23

43

Philippe Clement

23-25

86

Russell Martin

25-present

8

As the table outlines, Pedro Caixinha is the shortest-serving permanent Rangers manager of all time, taking charge of only 26 matches in 2017, winning just 14, overseeing the infamous Europa League qualifying defeat at the hands of Progrès Niederkorn.

Well, with pressure increasing already, Martin could break that record, needing to remain in charge until late-November to avoid this fate which, at the moment, is in the balance.

However, could the new manager immediately win over the Ibrox faithful by landing a statement signing before the window closes?

Rangers aiming to rebalance midfield

Most would’ve forecast that midfield would be the strongest part of Rangers’ team, given the performances of Mohamed Diomandé and player of the year Nicolas Raskin last season.

However, they’re yet to find the right balance with those two alongside summer signing from Bournemouth Joe Rothwell, who is yet to impress supporters.

With that in mind, could Rangers reignite their interest in Andy Irving, after it was reported by the Scotsman earlier this month that they were among many sides interested in securing his signature?

Numerous other clubs from across Europe are also interested, Wrexham, Köln, Stuttgart, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Sturm Graz, to name but a few, but Rangers could place themselves at the front of the queue.

The 25-year-old, who is reportedly valued at £3.5m, has already had a fascinating career; born in Edinburgh, he began his career at Heart of Midlothian, loaned out to both Berwick Rangers and then Falkirk, appearing 61 times for Hearts in total.

He then made the unconventional move to Türkgücü München, spending one season in Germany’s third-tier, before joining Austria Klagenfurt, playing for two seasons in the Austrian Bundesliga, scoring 16 goals and registering 14 assists.

This earned him a move to West Ham, although he’s been used infrequently by the Irons, his sole Premier League start, to date, coming at Stamford Bridge in February, serenaded by supporters throughout, despite a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea.

He was then handed his senior international debut by Steve Clark against Liechtenstein at Rheinpark Stadion in June, remaining very popular amongst West Ham supporters, earning the nickname the ‘Portobello Pirlo’ due to his ‘precocious talent’ and ability to dictate play from the base of midfield.

Writer Kai Watson outlines how Irving can “play under pressure” and “break the lines with his passes”, concluding that the Scotland international “would do well in Martin’s system”.

As he proved at Southampton last season, Martin is not going to change his principles nor his philosophy, or playing style, so the only way he is a success at Rangers is if the players are better able to carry out his instructions.

Based on what he’s produced so far, Irving appears as though he could do just that at a high level, so he could be the man to save the sinking ship, with his ability to succeed in the system being played.

Journalist reveals what he's heard about Russell Martin's Rangers future

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ByHenry Jackson Aug 22, 2025

As a Scotland international, Irving may also warm to supporters quickly as a player they may have an added investment in, which could help to get the fans back onside at Ibrox.

Barcelona are lining up a backup plan for their home fixture against Paris Saint-Germain in case Camp Nou is not ready on time to host their first Champions League home game. The Blaugrana have suffered several delays in their efforts to return to the renovated stadium, and are currently targeting the clash against Real Sociedad on September 28, just days before the French giants come to town.

Plans to host Real Sociedad at home while moving the PSG game away

According to , Barcelona are confident of securing the final construction certificate in time to host Real Sociedad at Camp Nou at the end of the month. However, the club will only be able to admit around 27,000 spectators, with large sections of the stadium still under renovation. For the clash against PSG, though, Camp Nou may remain unavailable, as a key section with a 45,000 capacity cannot yet be opened. Both PSG and UEFA have already been informed of the possible venue change to avoid any confusion.

AdvertisementAFPRevamping the Camp Nou as part of Espai Barca

As part of the project, club president Joan Laporta convinced the General Assembly that the revamped stadium was a crucial element of Barcelona’s financial future. In December 2022, the Assembly voted in favour of the renovation plans, which were also approved by the City Council. They initially planned to return to the iconic stadium last year but have faced several delays which have now run into the current campaign. La Liga granted their request to start the season with three straight away matches in order to give them more time to get Camp Nou in order but they yet to confirm when the stadium will be ready to host a match.

Camp Nou delays and postponement

Recently, the Joan Gamper Trophy, Barcelona’s annual pre-season fixture which had been scheduled to take place at Camp Nou, was moved to the Johan Cruyff Stadium after the club failed to obtain the necessary licence from the council. Missing the deadline once again, Barcelona were forced to host their home game against Valencia at the Johan Cruyff Stadium for a second time. The situation looked even bleaker when vice-president Elena Fort admitted uncertainty over when the team could finally return to Camp Nou. It is reported that the club have lost close to €90 million (£78m/$106m) in revenue by being unable to play at their iconic home ground.

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gettyWhat's in store for Barcelona?

Barcelona will hope that there will be no more delays in revamping the stadium and they will be able to host big games and Champions League nights at the stadium. Otherwise, they will have to play all of their League phase matches at the stadium in Montjuic. 

This weekend's game against Getafe will take place at the same 6,000-capacity stadium that hosted the Valencia match.

Thursday’s fixture against Cricket Without Borders is their first as a team, what will that team look like in future?

Valkerie Baynes and Firdose Moonda29-Jan-20252:03

Mel Jones: This group of Afghanistan women are trying to rebuild their lives

For Afghanistan’s women cricketers, their first competitive match since escaping oppression in their home country represents a significant step in their sporting journey – although the path ahead may not be the one they envisaged before.Thursday’s T20 against Cricket Without Borders at Junction Oval falls on the same day as the start of the day-night Women’s Ashes Test at the nearby MCG and is a platform for them to not only play the game – something which is now banned under Afghanistan’s Taliban government – but to remind the world that they exist.So what are the ways forward?Playing as Afghanistan WomenAgainst Cricket Without Borders, the players will compete as the Afghanistan Women’s XI as opposed to Afghanistan Women and wear a kit specifically designed for the match as opposed to a national team uniform.Mel Jones, the commentator who was instrumental in helping the formerly contracted Afghanistan Women’s team players escape their country after the Taliban took over in 2021, says that until the ICC recognises them as a national team, those differences are likely to remain.The Afghanistan Cricket Board and ICC say they cannot do so as it would contravene the country’s laws. This is why Afghanistan have been allowed to retain ICC membership, despite not currently fulfilling the requirement to commit to developing women’s cricket.Firooza Amiri and Nahida Sapan pose in their playing shirts ahead of the Afghanistan Women’s XI match•Getty ImagesThe ICC are a member-led organisation, bound by the vote of its member boards and, if the boards who support recognising an Afghanistan Women’s team are in the minority, the governing body can argue its hands are tied.”Anything to do with these players as a team would be their own individual team,” Jones told ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast. “They won’t play underneath the ACB or the Afghanistan flag as a side.”But what we’re trying to navigate at the moment is how can we allow them the opportunity of still feeling part of their country while not saying that they’re the Afghanistan Women’s cricket team because my understanding is that that will never be the case.”That is really, really tough for them as a group to try and understand. I still don’t think most of them have got their heads around that at the moment, and that just adds to the trauma. I think, hopefully, that they themselves know that they were the contracted players, the contracted Afghanistan women’s players at the fall of Afghanistan, and they get an opportunity to once again play, for the first time really, as that group.”Related

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Jones acknowledged the complexities of the sport’s governance, but highlighted the need for discussion. She credited Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia’s outgoing CEO, for meeting the players on several occasions and listening to their concerns.”The ability to sit down and listen has made such a difference to this group, and that’s probably the one piece that I would say we’ve been really bad at over the last four years, is that people turn their back on that conversation,” Jones said.”I would hope that if we learn anything from this, if something like this happens again, that we just don’t turn our back on people and hope that silence will make it go away because it just doesn’t.”Refugee teamIn July 2024, 17 players, contracted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board in 2020 before the Taliban takeover asked the ICC to assist them in setting up a refugee team based in Australia and administered by the East Asian Cricket office based at Cricket Australia. There has been no formal response to that request.In the meantime, one sticking point to fielding a refugee team is that, unlike the Olympic refugee team, which comprises individual athletes from various countries, this team is from only one nation. Any refugee team would have to be open to players in exile from other countries, unless this team is recognised purely as the Afghanistan Refugee team.Even then, the fact that some of the exiled Afghan players reside in the UK and Canada poses logistical challenges for bringing the team together, particularly without the funding to do so.